A clearinghouse of news and events about historic Route 66, the Mother Road.

The freedom to be stupid

I never thought a restaurant would be this dumb to want to alienate potential customers. But here it is, straight from the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff:

Over the last two weeks, Crazy Bill’s Saloon and Steak House has put up two messages on its marquee facing Route 66 that have prompted some residents to push for passage of a nondiscrimination ordinance.

That’s after officials concluded the messages, “Flagstaff has too many queers and not enough beer” and another simply saying “Fagstaff,” are legal under current city and state statutes. […]

A third and more recent message taunted readers offended by previous messages to direct complaints to “1 800 bl*w me,” before it was removed. [Editor’s note: message was censored lightly.]

Police investigated and found the restaurant broke no laws. And under the First Amendment, they are probably right.

Gay-rights groups aren’t too happy about this restaurant, nor undoubtedly are a lot of Flagstaff residents in general. The city is treading lightly and researching its options on whether such blatantly offensive signs can be taken down legally.

Buried in the story is this little nugget:

A small sign underneath the steakhouse marquee notes that Crazy Bill’s is for sale.

Guys, if you have a restaurant for sale, it’s a good idea to not give it a bad reputation. Doing such things tend to decrease its value.

I also noted that Crazy Bill’s Web site domain lapsed and was snatched up by a bill-payment company.

I am certain that a number of gay people drive Route 66 every year and eat in its restaurants. To want to offend such travelers is awesomely self-destructive.

Then again, you do have the freedom to be awesomely stupid. And this is the stupidest thing I’ve seen on Route 66 in a long, long time.